Still feeling the full sting of falling in the final two seconds
of Saturday’s 4A-I state championship game, Canyon del Oro coach
Pat Nugent was asked during post-game interviews to look nine
months into the future - to next year’s kickoff.

And if there was anything that could ease his pain, it was the
comfort of knowing that everyone who found their way into the end
zone for the Dorados during the title game will return next fall to
try and erase these memories.

“The reality is that a freshman, a sophomore and a junior scored
all of our touchdowns today,” said Nugent. "We were just seconds
away from doing something really special.”

Freshman star running back Ka’Deem Carey, a highlight reel per
touch, was the first to burn the Sabercats.

With 6:24 to play in the third quarter, Carey fielded a kickoff
near his 9-yard line, took a flurry of strides straight ahead, and
then cut directly left towards the far sideline. The 15-year-old
blazed past the initial line of would-be tacklers and by the time
he reached midfield, there was no one left in his path.

“I knew I could get us back in it with a big return,” said
Carey. “I wanted to give us that spark we needed.”

Ninety-one yards later the Dorados were finally on the
scoreboard.

“Everyone keeps wanting to say that (Carey) is just a freshman,”
Saguaro coach John Sanders said. “But he is just a real fast
freshman. And there is no substitute for speed.”

That score brought Canyon del Oro back within three points of
the defending champions at 10-7, breathing a dose of life into a
team that was showing the body language of the
already-defeated.

“No one wants to kick to (Carey),” said Nugent. “And after
today, I don’t know that he’ll ever get another kickoff kicked to
him again. He’s that explosive.”

Sophomore wide receiver/safety Josh Robbins was the next to make
a serious impact on high school football’s biggest stage.

Trailing 20-7, with just over five minutes left in the game, CDO
quarterback Daniel Nicholas lofted a pass in Robbins’ direction,
near the right corner of the end zone. Robbins left his feet to
grab the ball at its peak, and was hit while in air, but still
managed to keep his right foot in bounds for the 15-yard scoring
strike.

“It was a perfect pass,” Robbins said. “The only thing I had to
do was come down with it.”

At the 3:09 mark of the fourth quarter, junior running back
Griffin Ronstadt gave the Dorados their only lead of the game.

Ronstadt secured a handoff from Nicholas before making a precise
cut in front of a lunging Sabercats defender on his way to the end
zone, and a 21-20 advantage.

In the end, however, Saguaro negated the efforts of the Dorados
youngsters in dramatic fashion, booting a field goal with two
seconds on the clock.

“It hurts right now,” said Robbins, fighting tears. “But we will
be back.”